Cloud Nothings’ album Here and Nowhere Else turned five years old a couple of weeks ago. It still packs as much of a punch today as I thought it did then. At the time it was an album that I needed. I had found myself listening to the same old songs for too long. I was very much into Pitchfork so when the site gave it an 8.7 rating out of 10, it was clearly obvious that this album was going to be good.

A word you could use to describe the album is ‘rough’. Not in the “yeesh, that’s rough” kind of way. More in its aesthetic. The pounding drums go about a few seconds earlier than each guitar strum. Dylan Baldi’s vocals are never that clear in the mix. The guitars have quite a harsh, sandy quality to them. But every track is melodic and grounded in pop sensibilities. I may have already stated all of this in the linked post but it’s always good to recollect.

‘I’m Not Part of Me’ is the album closer. From what I can remember it was the first taste of the then new album that the band unveiled to the public too. It arguably has the most memorable hook on the entire record. Plus, it’s quite optimistic in its own casual way. Here and Nowhere Else is quite a tense record musically. Lyrically it looks at the the unfairness of life and how sometimes we just have to deal with bad things that happen to us. Then ‘I’m Not Part of Me’ comes in as the last track and provides the idea that life is unfair, yes, but that’s okay – you just have to move on. It’s almost a breath of fresh air. Just almost.